• Chivas host Galaxy with both sides desperate for points
• New Chivas signings may start in SuperClasico
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It's been a busy week for Mr Beckham. Apart from his Olympic PR exploits he found time to honor some of the local dignitaries in his adopted country with a personal appearance. In no way awkward comedy ensued...
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Favorite moment - 25 seconds in: Robbie Keane trying to figure out what a "Miami Heat" is.
An odd first half - it rattled by in a way which usually suggests an end-to-end game with lots of chances, but for the most part this was a lot of sound and fury, signifying not much.
Chivas upped their game from their previous home displays and successfully set the tempo for sustained periods. For LA, Donovan and Noonan were not on the same page up front, but you suspect if anything is going to come from the Galaxy it will come from the former surging from deeper positions.
More of our regular Guardian previewers showing up to weigh in. Josie notes:
"Ref called first half without adding any stoppage time. So you can guess how exciting things have been @KidWeil"
To which the Vancouver Southsiders respond: "@LAGConfidential @kidweil Ref called our Weds game 6 sec BEFORE 45min."
Josh was hoping Keane might get into the game, perhaps unaware that he's not in the squad tonight. DeeAnne Heatherton is along to help him out:
"@jguesman @KidWeil No Keano - hamstring tightness!"
Last minute of the half. Agudelo is crowded out by the LA defense as he tries to reach a cross. It's the last action of the half. No added time and we go in to the half at Chivas 0 Galaxy 0. Half time thoughts in a moment.
Josie's back: "Sloppiness from both sides, but we're starting to see both clubs putting attacks together. Still missing the final touch @KidWeil"
I'll say... Other than that Bolanos shot and the header Lopes flashed over - really not seen a dangerous shot on goal.
Game has been getting stretched. Donovan trying to force the issue on several occasions, but his efforts look just that - forced. He's not helped by his team mates not showing for the ball from him.
Bolanos oversells some contact on the edge of the box. We've seen two awful penalties already today in the Montreal vs New York game, but nothing doing on this one.
Alexi is back opining, thought the TV cameras are not cutting to his shadowy rooftop presence and instead showing a very bushy-faced and rather grumpy David Beckham.
Juninho does nothing to enhance his reputation by crashing it off the wall. LA get a corner that is clumsily cleared by Chivas. Hint of pressure from the Galaxy but Correa is able to relieve it by forcing his way upfield on the right. Game coming alive as we head to the half.
...It's hit long and Agudelo gets a head to it but can't direct it on goal. Now at the other end LA have a free kick in a dangerous position outside the box. Beckham territory. He's on the bench, nursing Olympic Torch blisters though...
OFF THE POST! Bolanos surges forward and lashes one from outside the box. Perk is beaten by his quick shot and mighty relieved to see the ball rebound off the post. A minute later Chivas have a corner...
Josh is back: "LA's midfield is sleeping right now. Chivas easily bypassing them and 3 forwards are causing @LAGalaxy issues. @KidWeil"
Correa set free by a decent through ball down the channel, but he can't work a shot under pressure and the ball goes up the other end, where Donovan and Magee try to get something going for LA. The move breaks down though.
Not heard much from Juninho either...
Agudelo battling with Franklin down the left as they both chase towards the corner. Franklin wins it at the expense of a throw. Not seen much of Agudelo yet.
...DECENT CHANCE! Whipped cross from Donovan on the corner and Lopes is able to get to it and flash a header just over the bar.
Galaxy trying to get their midfield triangles going. This is better. They get a corner off Riley from Nakazawa's attempted cross...
Still 0-0 by the way. Fair amount of huffing and puffing. Little of note in either box.
Dunivant hits a bad ball forward that Noonan gets nowhere near. Galaxy looking frustrated and out of sync with each other right now. Not getting their counter-attacking game going at all.
Bolanos is getting some joy down the right hand side for Chivas, but his end product is still lacking. A time shot right at Perk after he cuts inside.
Surreal shot of Alexi Lalas on the roof of the stadium, looking like a sniper/demented messianic leader. He's got his eye on Califf and Agudelo and thinks the former has settled well. Califf has looked solid when called on.
Josie Becker, another one of our regular Galaxy previewers, tweets to say: "20' in and neither keeper has been truly tested. Both teams seem to be figuring out how these new lineups fit together @KidWeil"
She's right. For all the energetic Chivas play they haven't worked Perk yet.
...it's swung in dangerously but an unlucky deflection stops it falling for the LA attackers and it goes for a goal kick. Game racing by at the moment.
Correa scampers past the Galaxy back line but is flagged offside and does a little river dance of frustration. That may be my new band - Riverdance of Frustration...
Galaxy have a free kick in the Chivas half...
Bolanos has a couple of attempts at getting the ball in from the right, but Galaxy hold, if not 'firm', at least 'out' and get it clear. They look very anonymous so far.
Chivas buzzing round the Galaxy box at the moment - some neat approach play. But the final ball still lacking a little so far. Not the first time that's been typed this season...
Not much. Dangerous ball in which Moreno gets to first, ahead of Magee, but can't direct it on target. Goal kick. Still Chivas 0 LA 0.
Chivas playing with a little more urgency than we've sometimes seen from them in 2012 - at times they haven't looked like a home side this season, but they're trying to set a tempo here. Now they have a free kick to the left of the box. What can they do?
...it's overhit, but Agudelo does well to keep the move going. Eventually the ball is crossed back in, but there's an infringement and Galaxy can clear.
LaBrocca goes on a dangerous looking surge into the Galaxy box, but his eventual cutback is poor. Another corner for Chivas though...
Both sides pressing the other when out of possession - typical high-tempo derby start. Dunivant sinks a delicate little cross in but Kennedy is alert to it and claims safely.
Donovan sends it long and Chivas squeeze up, catching Dunivant offside. Plenty of noise in the stadium tonight.
First Tweet from our Galaxy previewer Josh Guesman: "Watching @lagalaxy from Denver. Hoping the lack of Oxygen makes me excited about this starting lineup. So far, no good! @KidWeil"
Now Galaxy have a corner...
First corner - to Chivas. Flicked on at the near post and Chivas retrieve. Their usual patient passing round the box, but eventually Galaxy intercept and clear.
Califf jogs across to make an early cool clearance but in the ensuing scrap for the ball, it breaks for Sarvas who flashes one past the post, after good harrying from Nakazawa.
Big close up of Danny Califf and his impressive sideburns and the game gets under way...
Chivas USA: Kennedy; Jazic, McKenzie, Califf, Riley; Minda, LaBrocca, Moreno; Agudelo, Correa, Bolanos
Los Angeles Galaxy: Perk; Franklin, Lopes, DeLaGarza, Dunivant; Magee, Sarvas, Juninho, Nakazawa; Donovan, Noonan
So both signings straight in the side for Chivas, but a changed side for LA. Robbie Keane is not even in the 18 and David Beckham and Edson Buddle do not start. Some LA bloggers had been asking for Donovan to be pushed higher up the field, but these might not be the circumstances they'd have imagined that happening in. With Donovan further forward, Juninho could do with raising his game to the level Galaxy fans enjoyed last year.
Lots of sub-plots then...
As we've mentioned, neither team has been in great form this season, and this game is set up to be perhaps the closest SuperClasico for some years. In recent years the Galaxy have dominated the fixture and are unbeaten since mid-2007 against their neighbors - though that was a traumatic 3-0 defeat. Since then Chivas have scored only one goal against the Galaxy in MLS competition, and despite some neat build up play this season have lacked inspiration in the final third - so it's not surprising they're throwing Agudelo straight in tonight, in the hope that he has the same electrifying effect in his debut here, as he did in his international debut against South Africa:
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The Galaxy, despite their impressive looking firepower up front, didn't blow many teams away on their way to the title last year, but played with the confidence of knowing that their tight defense meant that one goal was often enough to win. This year that confidence has looked fragile. When I spoke to Landon Donovan before the Montreal game he spoke of the need to score first in more games to get back in that habit of dictating games. The Galaxy promptly conceded an early goal to the Impact, but fought back to equalize through a David Beckham free kick special.
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Looking at the net result of personnel in and out at Chivas (and discounting the money involved for a moment), they appear to have broken even at the back by offloading an established defender (Pearce) for an established defender (Califf) - albeit in different trades. The remaining moves saw them move on a marginal squad player (Lahoud) for a much hyped young US international striker (Agudelo), who can expect many more minutes in red and white for Chivas, than he managed in white and red for New York.
So apart from shaking up the options for the spine of the team, the overall results of these trades look like good value for Chivas in the short term - though much will depend on whether Califf stays injury-free and how long they keep Agudelo for. If he does well, the suspicion is he'll be in Europe sooner rather than later (in that scenario part of any transfer fee would go to the Red Bulls).
Our regular Chivas game previewer Alicia Ratterree, from blog The Goat Parade, wrote a thorough breakdown of the moves here, which is well worth a read. You can also see Alicia's verdict on tonight's game, as well as that of guest Galaxy previewer Josh Guesman, from The Section 108 Blog, over at our weekly MLS previews.
Never let it be said that the Guardian doesn't set the social media agenda. No sooner had we posted the first part of our feature on LA soccer culture, looking at Chivas USA, on Thursday lunchtime, than Twitter began to light up with #Chivas hashtags. Having hastily built a trophy room for the inevitable Pulitzer and spent a few minutes practicing looking gracious, we took a closer look at the spinning timeline and promptly deflated.
It seems that rather than writing us fawning emails asking how we got so good with semi-colons, Chivas themselves had gracelessly upstaged us, by embarking on one of the boldest trading days of their history. By the time the dust had settled and the arcane MLS currency of surplus players, allocation money, magic beans and (our personal favorite) "future considerations" had whizzed around the country, Philadelphia Union's captain (and rockabilly legend) Danny Califf and New York's wunderkind Juan Agudelo were on their way to California, while Heath Pearce was apartment hunting in New Jersey and Michael Lahoud was being added to the stockpile of midfielders that Union coach Peter Nowak occasionally strips for parts.
More on those players in a bit, but in the interests of fairness, there are two teams in LA, and tonight is a rare chance to see the other one - the plucky Los Angeles Galaxy. The Galaxy responded to Chivas's attention grabbing moves, by enigmatically sending one of their young English players to Europe to carry a candle around, before hunkering down and preparing for tonight's SuperClasico against their noisy neighbors - perhaps secretly relieved that for once, the focus was on their opponents.
If Agudelo and Califf are intended as a shot in the arm for a somewhat ponderous-looking Chivas team, Los Angeles need a catalyst of their own. Going into tonight's game the 2011 MLS Cup winners have only a point more than Chivas and lie 15 points behind current Western conference leaders Real Salt Lake. A lot of the damage for both teams has been done at home - with Chivas losing every game at the Home Depot Center and Los Angeles not looking much more convincing here - crashing out of the CCL to Toronto, and losing league games to RSL, New England and New York. Given those stats, the Galaxy might be glad that tonight's game is technically an away game for them - even if that means trekking 40 yards down the corridor to the cramped away dressing room and with each of their players facing a best case post-game scenario of being 19th to use the ice bath.
Anyway, I'll be back shortly with more on those trades, previous encounters between the two, and some team news for tonight's game. In the meantime tweet your thoughts, predictions and accusations of bias to @KidWeil, or email graham.parker.freelance@guardian.co.uk.
And check out that feature on Chivas, before they sign Ronaldo... Read More
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